Last time on "Let's Try to Kill Leo Again"—we barely escaped a hydra, and now apparently I'm dealing with another creepy creature. Leo wiped the sweat from his palms, annoyed at how cursed his day had become.
The man who had cornered him earlier shouted at the figure in the doorway.
"Who in the ever-living hell are you?!"
The security guard from Leo's school didn't answer. Instead, he stepped forward, veins pulsing across his forehead. His hook scraped the wall with a horrible, screeching grind. His eyes glowed the same threatening gold as the hydra's earlier.
"Where is he?" the guard asked—calm, but with a crackling fury underneath. His glowing eyes locked onto Leo.
"Where's who?" Leo asked, gripping his phone.
"The boy!" The guard slammed his fist through the wall, plaster exploding across the rotten floor.
Leo winced. He's not playing around.But how the hell did this guy not see Rudo sitting outside like a bright flashlight? Was he blind? Selectively blind? Do monsters have some weird "child filter" that only detects chosen kids? It doesn't matter—Leo thought to himself. I needed to get out.
The man beside Leo scoffed.
"Listen, I don't know who you are, but we're in the middle of something right now, so could you just—y'know—buzz off?"
Two thoughts entered Leo's mind:
Is this guy an idiot? Because I sure as hell wouldn't talk casually to a guy who punches walls like drywall is cardboard.Then again the poor fool doesn't know.
Could I use this guy as a distraction?
To be fair, Leo had considered sacrificing him. But that didn't mean he'd actually do it. Probably.
"I'm not going to ask again," the guard growled. "WHERE IS THAT BRAT?!"
His body twisted and grew. Fur spread across his arms. His legs snapped into new shapes. Horns burst from his skull like broken branches.
"Anger issues much," Leo muttered, stepping back.
"What the hell is that thing?" the man stuttered.
"A monster," Leo answered quietly. "And now you're scared?"
"I just wanted to get to work… and get paid…" the man whimpered. "I just wanted a normal day…"
"You and me both, buddy," Leo muttered.
The creature towered at six feet—deer skull face, clawed hands, four massive horns curling from its head.
"WHERE IS HE?!" it roared and swung.
Leo bolted.
But something yanked him backward—it was the same man who had yelled at him earlier.
"What are you doing?!"
"You want this kid, right?!" the man cried, trembling. "If I give him to you, will you spare me?!"
Leo blinked. This asshole is really trying to use me as bait. Honestly, Leo respected the survival instinct a little, since he had considered doing the same thing—but he still wasn't thrilled about being thrown under the bus.
Outside, Rudo sat on a tire swing behind the lighthouse, gently swinging himself while staring at the stars.
"Wonder what's taking him so long…" He paused, eyes widening. "Crap. What if he fell into the toilet?"
The bus driver approached.
"Your friend back yet?"
"Not yet. I think he might've fallen in."
The driver sighed. "Well, if he's not out in the next five minutes, I'm leaving him behind."
"Wait, Mr. Driver, question."
"What is it now?"
"Do you know when we'll reach Greenhill?"
"I can't really say for sure at the moment, kid."
"Right… sorry."
Rudo continued swinging,worry slowly replacing his playful mood.
Back at the gas station, the bell jingled.
"Welcome—oh, we don't usually get customers this late," Sarah said.
A drenched figure stood in the entrance, water dripping from a red umbrella. Her eyes were hollow and unfocused, her face pale. She moved slowly, silently, toward the back of the store.
"Uh… okay then…" Sarah mumbled.
The woman grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, then staggered to the counter. Up close, her eyes looked heavy—dark, like she hadn't slept in days.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.
No answer.
The woman slid cash onto the counter with trembling fingers and as she then went for her phone and turned it on Sarah caught a slight eye of the home screen.As she then noticed something strange on the phone that caught her eye.
"Excuse me," Sarah said carefully. "But… are you by chance an acquaintance of Rudo?"
The figure froze. Her hollow eyes gained the faintest glow.
"Do you know where he is?" she whispered, gripping the counter so hard her knuckles turned white.
Back in the bathroom, the trembling man squeezed Leo's shoulders. He felt like ice.
"L-look, if you let me go, we can both get out alive," Leo whispered.
"What do you mean both? This thing only wants you!"
"Well… not exactly."
"What?!"
"Even if you give me up, you'd die too," Leo said. Remembering the events from the hydra—attack,"I have a plan that'll let both of us leave here alive."
The man froze.
"Release me and I can get us both out of here."
The man hesitated… then let go.
"Okay. I let go. Now what?"
Thanks for freeing me.Leo thought. Not like I couldn't slip out of your flimsy grip on my own.Man this guy's so scared I'm surprised he didn't shit himself.
"Got anything we can use as a weapon?"
The man dug through his pockets and shakily pulled out a small pocket knife. He wasn't steady enough to use it, so Leo took it from him.
He flipped open the blade and lifted his phone in the other hand. The monster trembled—holding back, maybe conflicted,who knew why he wouldn't attack right away.
Is this plot armor?Or are villains in this world just stupid? Because I've survived way too long for someone with zero training.
The guard lunged—
Leo tapped his phone.
FLASH.
The creature roared and covered its eyes. Leo flashed it again.
FLASH.
And again.
FLASH.
In the moment of hesitation, Leo grabbed its arm (to no effect whatsoever) but used the angle to hurl the knife straight at its eye.
The beast screamed, crashing face-first into the floor.
The man stumbled back. "Kid… y-you did it… you kept your word…"
Leo was already pushing at the monster.
"What the hell are you doing?!" the man yelled. "Going for round two, you psycho?!"
"Just shut up and help me flip him."
"No! No way! Absolutely no—"
"Come on."
"No—no—no—damn it all FINE!"He said now feeling a little terrified of Leo.
Together, they rolled the beast over. Leo saw pulsing red lines under its horns and around its remaining eye. Without hesitating, he stabbed the other eye. Purple blood dripped onto the filthy tiles.
"Gross," the man muttered.
Leo noticed something carved into the knife:
Property of Erika.
"Your name's Erika?" Leo asked.
"It's Eric. Not Erika."
"Oh. Got it, Eri-ka." Leo forced a laugh.
"First—there's nothing funny about my name! Second—how are you laughing after that?!"
"I can't really tell you myself."
BZZT.
Leo checked his phone.
[Threat: Cleared]
[+100 points awarded]
"…Still no clue what any of this means."
More messages appeared.
[The Crescent Prisoner of Cold Silver feels decisive yet happy about your survival.]
[The Dweller of the Dead is disappointed you didn't die.]
"The hell?"
[The All-Father is curious how you survived.]
Leo frowned. Am I entertainment to right now?
Comments scrolled up.
[C840:Not gonna lie, he should've died.]
[Rvgc12-11:Underpowered MCs don't do it for me anymore.]
[Falco-Clears:I like the other one better.]
Leo pocketed the phone in annoyance at the comments not understanding what they really are or meant.
An idea formed.
"Hey, Eri-ka—help me drag this thing out of here?"
"What for?!"
"To make sure it doesn't get up again."
Minutes went by as the bus could be heard starting.
"Man, I hope Leo gets back soon or else—"
"Or else what?" Leo said.
"AH—dude! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry.I had to take care of something."
"Did ya fall in?"
For a moment, Leo's eyes went slightly empty. "Not even," he said with a forced laugh.
"Come on, we gotta hurry before they leave us."
As Rudo ran off, Leo eyed the tire swing. A plan clicked into place.
He cut the rope and of the tire swing from the tree and carried it towards the back of the bus.There sat Eric with the unconscious security guard monster.He then put the tire around the beast's neck with Eric tying the rope to the bus's bumper.
"Doesn't this feel… dark?" Eric asked.
"A bit. But we can't have this thing going after anyone else." Especially another repeat of Mr. Kay.He thought to himself feeling a bit bad for the creature.
BZZT.
Leo checked his phone again.
[Giant-slayer of the Nine likes your brutality.]
"Seriously—what the hell are these notifications?!"
Leo and Eric then hurried to the bus entrance as the bus started to slowly pull away.